Matrix Operations on the TI-89

Written by Jeff OConnell joconnell@ohlone.edu Ohlone College http://www2.ohlone.edu/people2/joconnell/ti/ Entering a Matrix : Press [APPS] and select [Data/Matrix Editor]. Select either 1:Current, 2:Open..., or 3, New where appropriate. Selecting New and entering the information about the matrix as follows:

Press[HOME] to return to the Home screen. Now pressing a and [ENTER] will show you the matrix. Row Operations: The Row operations can be found by pressing [2nd][MATH] selecting [4: Matrix] and selecting [J: Row ops]. Row ops is far enough down the list that moving up the list is faster. Here are examples of row operations:

Add 4 times row 1 to row 2 ( !4R1 + R 2 " R 2 ) Note: If you are doing many row operations on the same matrix you should use [ANS] instead of the name of the matrix after the first row operation. Row Echelon Form (ref) and Reduced Row Echelon Form (rref) : Press [2nd][MATH] select [4:Matrix]. Select the desired form followed by the name of the matrix and press enter. For example: Inverse Matrices: Select the name of the matrix and raise it to the 1 power. The matrix A above is not invertible so we consider

Swap rows 1 and 2 ( R 1 ! R 2 )

Multiply row 3 by 4 ( 4R 3 ! R 3 )

If you want your results in fractions select [Exact/Approx] after pressing [MODE]. Set the calculator to [2: EXACT] then all computations will come out in fractions. Addition and Multiplication: These operations are done with the regular multiplication and addition keys along with the names of the matrices. For example consider the matrices B and C shown on the left with the computations shown on the right.